The Baruch College Bearcats led from start to finish to defeat the Cougars from Medgar Evers College, 67-46, on Friday night in the ARC Arena.

The Bearcats jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the opening nine minutes to set the tone for the rest of the conference game.

They led by double-digits throughout the second half and were up by as much as 26 points (57-31) with 9:34 left.

Granville Gittens powered his way to a double-double with 20 points, 15 rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists and three steals.

Raymond De La Cruz scored 18 points and Matas Rascius had a season-high 14 points and six rebounds.

The Bearcats forced the Cougars into committing 24 turnovers that were turned into 25 points on the offensive end. They also totaled 17 second chance points.

The visiting Cougars struggled offensively shooting 30.9 percent on 17-of-55 from the field. Khalid Yousef led the team in the scoring column with 20 points and seven rebounds.

The men's basketball team will return to action on Sunday, January 19, with a 2:00 pm non-conference home contest in the ARC Arena against Wesleyan University (Connecticut) from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).